Rosh Chodesh Nissan will be arriving this Saturday. Nisan’s astrological sign is the lamb. For the Egyptians this symbol was wealth and power. For the Jews, this sign was what they would sacrifice for G-d. All our possessions can be used either way – as something to worship or as something we can use in our service of G-d.

Take stock of all you own and possess. Are we worshiping our possessions…or using it as a tool to serve the Creator of the world?

We are told, ““B’Nisan Nigalu…” In Nisan we were redeemed and in the future the redemption will also be in Nisan. One step toward redemption is a sense of unity, which leads me to the next topic to learn about, which is:

KIMCHA D’PISCHA – Pesach tax season – we give a donation (most common to do it through our rabbi at our shul) so that the poor people will have food for Pesach, too. Kimcha means flour and d’pischa means of Pesach — we ensure Matzos can be served on every Jewish table. The story of how Meah Shearim began is tied into this. When the pioneers who decided to begin settling land outside the Old City Walls first bought the plot of earth to build on, the powerhouse behind the construction project, Rabbi Rivlin, decided to start with a Mitzva. That first year, before they had funds to build, he planted wheat for Matzos and used the proceeds to marry off an orphan. Opening a project with kindness gets it off to its proper start, and from that get-go of being used to produce Pesach wheat which funded the marriage of an orphan, Meah Shearim became a nucleus of Torah and Chesed.

We should always start our planning with thinking of the less fortunate – and in this month we do the same by beginning the month of Nissan by giving charity to cover the holiday expenses of the poor. Being part of a community means responsibility to community. Same applies for working within a community. Kimcha D’Pischa you had a choice: either give or take. No one was exempt of either one or the other.